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opioid

·May 31, 2025·8 min read

Blocking Opioid Receptors May Restore Healthy Dopamine Balance

New research identifies a promising strategy for correcting dopamine imbalances in the brain using a drug that blocks kappa opioid receptors (KOR). In mouse models with a rare mutation that causes dopamine to leak abnormally, KOR blockers reduced this leakage and restored normal behavior.

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles

·February 28, 2022·7 min read

How Opioid Use Affects Offspring

Opioid use prior to pregnancy raises the risk that male offspring will develop type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome, a new rat study finds.

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Brain Cancer Featured Neurology Neuroscience Pain

·August 8, 2021·3 min read

Vitamin D Reduces Need for Opioid Pain Relief in Cancer Patients

Cancer patients with vitamin D deficiency under palliative care reported a decreased need for opioids to control pain and reduced symptoms of fatigue when given vitamin D supplementation.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·May 24, 2019·2 min read

Short-term use of opioids increases subjective pleasure

Short-term opioid use increases positive emotional experiences by intensifying feelings of pleasure and weakening negative emotions. This, researchers say, could be a contributing factor for later opioid addiction. However, the long term use of opioids alters the reward system, diminishing the initial sensitivity and blunting emotions.